[Izaya's POV]

The informant continued to type away at his computer as he listened to the babbling of his assistant and bodyguard in the background, drowning it out the best he could as he continued to work on his second assignment.

"But it's so stupid. They could have just kicked the door in or found something to break the lock with. Those doors like ancient, they can't be that tough."

"Not everyone's as strong as you. And I think these kids are only in.. maybe their last year of primary school?"

"Really!? Then why do they look so mature already?"

"Just because all the girls have boobs already doesn't make them mature, Shizuo."

"Well it should! These people are way too creepy crazy about women…"

"Amen."

Izaya finally sighed and looked up, glancing at the two who were currently watching an anime together because Namie had finished her filing and Shizuo hadn't sniffed out anything suspicious. Can't they see I'm trying to focus? Well, Shizu-chan probably can, he just doesn't care..

"Guys, if you're going to watch that then why don't you go up in the guest room? Listening to explosions isn't exactly the best when trying to find someone." the ravenett announced, seeing both of them look over at him. Namie crossed her arms.

"I've seen you watch anime while you work before." she protested, having said before that his couch was quite comfy for how much it hadn't been used (prior to when Izaya and Kasuka started using it for cuddling, obviously).

"Yes, but it wasn't loud and distracting. I mostly watch it for the soundtrack." the informant replied, turning back to his work again before he heard the TV unpause. "I said go watch it in the guest room." he groaned, running a hand through his hair as Shizuo growled at him from a distance.

"We're not getting up for you. Besides, it's my job to watch you. If I'm all the way up there then how the hell am I supposed to do anything?" the blond grumbled, getting a smirk in return.

"Aww, you do care~"

"No, I fucking don't you flea! I care about Kasuka!"

"Kasu-kun isn't here right now, and despite how much he insists on it, you shouldn't be here either. The only thing that would make you coming here matter is if I get all my work done on time anyway, so keep quiet or leave." Izaya stressed, watching them for a second as they glanced at each other.

"Killjoy." the both of them muttered before standing.

Instead of shoving off upstairs like he had ordered, he watched them turn the TV off, shuffle over to Namie's desk, take out her laptop and start watching it together from there. Assholes… At least they're using headphones now.

Izaya got back to work quickly and did find it much easier to focus now in the quiet, the familiar sound of only his typing filling the room and in the very background the sound of more coffee being brewed on a timer he'd set ages ago. If I try, I can almost imagine he's not even here. That blissful idea came to him and he quickly accomplished it, delving into his work even more efficiently as he let a smirk come onto his face.

There were at least a dozen people in the chat-room today, all babbling and talking about what they'd heard going on around the city, herded to that topic of conversation by the informant himself of course. He gathered plenty of knowledge from a couple of them, a few seeming to be much more dull and useless to him at the moment than others, but he was still getting varied results. Some information could easily go to an assignment of his, some of it could be used for reference later, like the comments on gang activity. If I keep good enough track of what's going on with them then I can send it in an extra report to Shiki and he might get off my case a bit more... Damn, he might even give me an assignment or two less next time! Kasu-kun and I could go on more dates again~

The smirk on his face turned into a smile for a moment before he focused on his task again. He almost wanted to hum to himself but didn't allow it, not only was Namie there but also his dimwitted nemesis so he just couldn't let himself relax anymore than he already had. If he did then he would probably scold himself later for it anyways.

After another half an hour he finally stretched his back and closed his laptop for a second, getting up and heading off the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee. Since Namie was busy watching something there was no way that she would stop and make him one if he'd asked, plus he felt like using his legs at least once that day, so it was just better to not bother asking. He came back, now with liquid heaven in his hands, and glanced to Shizuo now standing by the window towards his desk, scanning the area outside like a hawk.

"What is it? Did the dog catch a whiff of something?" he asked nonchalantly, smirking wider when the blond glanced at him with a heated glare before looking back out the window.

"No, I didn't smell shit, I thought I saw something.." Shizuo answered him, surprising him slightly from the lack of harsh words. Of course he cussed but that was pretty normal, even when talking to Kasuka, so he'd grown used to not counting it. Izaya was about to sit at his desk and get back to work again when curiosity got the better of him. He set his coffee down and went to the window too, glancing around and humming with disinterest as he found nothing out of the ordinary.

"Are you sure you saw something? All I see if that lady tanning on the balcony and I'm pretty sure that isn't new. Granted, I usually don't look up when I'm watching humans.." the informant went on, mumbling to himself a little at the end before he was nudged by Shizuo.

"That look normal to you?" he asked, pointing directly across the street from them and up a couple apartment spaces. There was an odd shape settled on one of the balconies, the curtains drawn behind it so they couldn't see if anyone was actually there or not, and they continued to study it.

"No, it looks anything but normal.." Izaya squinted his eyes to try and make out more than what was immediately visible, spotting a cord hanging down from the apartment half way to the one below it with some sort of box connected. It didn't look very bulky or dangerous to the apartment below but neither of them could very well distinguish what it was. A charger that came loose maybe? Mine's come loose before but what the hell is it attached to? He tried to study where the cord led up to again, still not sure just what it was from this distance.

After a second he almost felt like giving up. Well, for a little bit. He knew he had binoculars somewhere around here but he hadn't needed to use them for such a long time that he had no idea where he'd last put them. He started wandering away from the window. Maybe they're in my closet somewhere? Or in my nightstand, that is where I shove all my equip-

"Get down!" He heard behind him, not even a moment later being knocked down to the ground with a weight on top of him. He tried to push the weight off before he froze, the sound of glass breaking surprising him enough to keep him still and make his eyes shut just before there was a bang. It wasn't like a gun shot or anything too dangerous, but then again it didn't sound as innocent as a party popper.

They let the room grow quiet before he opened his eyes, the act making them sting and water greatly when the tainted air met them. Ahh shit.. I can't see anything. Izaya squeezed his eyes shut to try and get whatever was hurting them out before lightly covering them with his sweater sleeve, trying to focus his eyes enough to see if Shizuo was alright. After a moment of being laid on it was painfully obvious that the brute had acted as a shield for him, the blond currently having the same problem he had from the looks of it.

The informant kept his mouth covered with a sleeve as well while he took a deep breath, his eyes beginning to hurt too much and making him close them again. "Shizu-chan, you alright?" he coughed out. Whatever was in the air didn't affect his throat as badly as it did his eyes but it also didn't help. There was smoke gathered on his ceiling and in a couple second the fire alarm was going off, just adding to the irritation that gave him a headache. The beast beside him shifted.

"Yeah.. Nothing hurts so I guess whatever that was wasn't a bomb, at least not a real one." the blond replied, groaning as he sat up and moved away from the informant. Izaya nodded despite neither of them probably being able to see it.

The informant took another covered breath before speaking up. "Namie, are you alright? Say something." he called out, listening the direction of where her desk was and hearing some shuffling.

"Yeah, I'm alright too.. What the fuck just happened?" Namie responded, sounding just fine despite the smoke. After a second the air didn't hurt them as much, and once they all got their footing Namie went to open the door in an attempt to empty the apartment of whatever was left, though checking through the peephole first to see if anyone was waiting outside for them. The door was wide open now and no one was rushing in to shoot them or anything so they assumed they were fine for now, just in shock.

Izaya had no idea what to do so he just sat there while the air cleared, Shizuo sitting beside him for a moment before moving over to try and discreetly look through the shattered window, some glass cracking under his hand as he leaned on it. "Beast, if whatever just crashed in didn't hurt you then don't make up for it on your own. Get away from the glass." the informant instructed, finally getting his wits about him enough to stand up on his own, glancing at where their enemy's ammo had landed.

It looked like a small grenade, one much too small to be effective or to not be a toy one, it even looked like it was made of rubber. On further investigation though it was still leaking a tiny bit of smoke, letting them know it really had been the one to cause them damage. Nothing around it was damaged besides being a bit stained from what he assumed was gun powder, maybe even arsenic salt, and nothing was even pushed from it's original position by force besides his office chair, which had wheels on it in the first place.

So, if it wasn't meant to hurt us, then it was meant to scare us... But who was it for?

Izaya was very sure that it wasn't his employer already. First of all, there was no reason for Shiki to go to such lengths to scare him. A simple phone call and no use of resources could have accomplished that and the man knew it. Then there was the method itself. Shiki liked to think of himself as an artist in some things, and while he did use many other people that he himself scared shitless to do his dirty work, tactical fear and menacing was something that he enjoyed doing personally and within a good reach of the other person. He would't have done it this far away where he couldn't watch the outcome or response and he wouldn't have done it in such a sloppy manner as throwing a gas grenade, a toy gas grenade at that.

So we're dealing with someone else entirely, someone who hates me.. Then again... Izaya glanced up at his supposed savior - he could give Shizuo the credit for trying to do his job well, even if they had been in no danger they had no idea that it would only produce gas so Shizuo had obviously been ready to use himself as a waste-able shield just to protect someone he himself hated quite a lot. The act was completely admirable. But even then, he could have very well been the cause of this.

I hate Shizu-chan, I'm sure a lot of others do too. He collects peoples' money for a living which no one likes at all and, unintentionally I suppose, even leaves some of them homeless. I would be mad too, furious even, so it would make sense that they're after him.. I'm not much better though, honestly...

Izaya ran a hand through his hair and looked to his assistant and bodyguard when he noticed they were watching him, both waiting for answers most likely. And sine he didn't have them, he gave them orders instead. "Namie, please go turn off the fire detector. We don't need anyone checking on us at the moment." he said first, glancing at her and watching as she opened her mouth to protest just before she turned an went, no arguing to be had. Good. He glanced at the blond then. "Call Shinra, let him know you, me and Namie are coming over. I don't know what was in that grenade but it would be better to make sure none of us get sick from it or worse." he muttered, having a staring match with him nemesis before the blond just nodded, standing up quickly and heading over to Namie's desk where he'd last left his cell phone.

Before he couch reach it Izaya called his attention then, grabbing his own cellphone and looking like he was going to head upstairs. "Thanks for trying to save me, Shizu-chan. Let's hope if you do it again that it's still not a real grenade." he muttered, awkwardly giving him a thankful smile before heading upstairs, dialing Kasuka as he went. He called and after a second attempt his boyfriend finally answered. "Kasu-kun? You're almost off work right? Okay. When you get off head right to Shinra's, we're all meeting up there... No, no. Don't worry yourself, just go to Shinra's. I'll cya there. Love you.." He hung up before Kasuka could ask him any questions.

Chapter 87!

Sorry for making you guys wait so long!

I planned on getting this out to you all yesterday but plans changed and I stayed at my grandma's another night, meaning I had another night away from the computer completely.. Sorry again!

Anyways, I made this chapter super extra long for you guys to make up for it and also to give you a good grasp on this next plot-point.

I want all your opinions on this one, no exceptions, on who you think is behind this. And before you go 'I cant think of a single person that would do this to them!' you guys can guess for an unknown third party! That's always open as well!

I like to think in terms of the immediate story and canon story a lot as well but if you guys think of a scenario, as far fetched as it might seem to you and me, I wanna hear it! All of it! Gimme fake names, fake details, random bits that you feel are cool, I wanna know! I'm starving to hear ideas from you guys!

I hope you all loooved this chapter! Favorite, follow and review to see more!